Chapter 462: Greed
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 462: Greed
“Ah… ugh… ah… Give… give it back…”
“What?”
“Give it back… Mine… Give me back what’s mine…”
Those were the first words Maria Trump uttered as she looked around with an anxious expression. There were humans who felt awe toward me, and those who felt fear. But from her perspective, she must have thought they were all adoring me. The sight of Jane bowing her head was likely the final straw.
No one paid any attention to Maria, with her disheveled hair and naked, beggar-like appearance, as she glanced around. In other words, she was no longer their concern.
These were the very people who once revered Maria. They had followed her, protected her back, and at times, even feared her. Regardless of what they thought of themselves, Maria Trump had considered every single person here to be hers. Now, all of them were looking at me. It would be strange if she weren’t twisted with resentment.
I couldn’t know the precise details of what she was thinking, but her face was screaming at me nonetheless.
‘You took it all away.’
That’s what it said. I glanced around once more before speaking.
“What?”
“Wh-what you took… G-give it back…”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Please, please give it back.”
As I slowly took a step forward, she began to grow closer.
“I believe I told you before. To watch. I’m certain I said it.”
“…”
“Those who followed you have all turned their backs, and your status and power have vanished as if they never existed in the first place.”
“…”
“This time, what shall I take?”
The leader of an alliance, the powerful figure who tried to hold everything in her hands, was no longer here. In her place was nothing more than a spiteful psychopath who couldn’t let go of what she had.
“Give it back! Now! Give it back now!!!!”
She screamed and charged, but she was no threat. Without even needing to summon my magic, I swung my tail and sent one of her arms flying. With a familiar sound, her arm soared into the air, trailing blood.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!!”
“Fool.”
“My… my arm! My arm!”
The sight of her writhing on the ground was quite pitiful, but I felt no sympathy. I could still see her two eyes, glaring this way.
“Give it back! Give it back!!!”
I stomped on her back, then grabbed one of her legs and tore it off. An ear-splitting scream immediately followed.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!”
It was the same as before. She was clearly in agony, and yet she wasn't suffering. As I drew Gram, intending to sever her foot with the greatsword, I realized the act was meaningless.
There was something else that would make her truly suffer.
I infused my eyes with magic and began to look inside the castle. The entire structure, the contents of every room, came into view all at once. I saw Maria’s bedchamber, of course, but also the warehouse where she spent so much of her time.
I had thought she’d have a lot hidden away, but this was beyond my imagination. A smile crept onto my lips as I muttered.
“Greedier than I thought.”
A colossal flame and a surge of magic swept over the castle before me, and the massive structure slowly began to collapse.
“N-no! N-no!”
The only thing that remained was the massive warehouse, which I had protected with my magic. I clenched my hand in the air, and with a grotesque sound, the iron door barring the entrance was ripped away.
“N-no! No!!! Please… please!”
As the iron door fell, the contents inside began to pour out. There were items, of course, but also countless gold coins, ornaments, precious metals, and rare materials. It felt like looking upon a dragon’s hoard.
And that wasn’t all. A food storeroom in the basement, a collection of monster bones, countless books, firearms crafted by dwarves, and the dresses she herself cherished also came into view.
“Please… please!”
I couldn’t be sure, but she possessed a quantity of wealth that could rival the budget of an entire nation. It seemed she had indiscriminately collected everything she could get her hands on, including illegally traded goods and stolen items. Naturally, the expressions of the people watching began to change dramatically.
These were people who had lived difficult lives. They had suffered from starvation on the front lines and had endured a similar existence even after losing the war.
They were people who had gone to sleep clutching their empty stomachs, who had repeatedly thrown their bodies into the jaws of death just to secure ammunition or ore.
What they had so desperately wanted was right before their eyes. The things they thought were unattainable, far out of reach, were all in that one place. The waves of anger they sent out were impossible to count. I looked at Maria and slowly opened my mouth.
“You have quite a lot.”
“Please… ah…”
“I can see why you wouldn’t want to lose it.”
“…”
Crawling with one arm and one leg missing, she looked like an insect. I was looking down at her, and she was looking up at me. I thought she might be remembering the words I had spoken before.
I stretched out my hand, and the weapons I possessed shot up into the sky. An Iron Throne materialized from thin air and crashed to the ground. I slowly sat upon it and began to reach my hand toward the things she had spent her entire life collecting.
“P-please…”
“What?”
“P-please don’t do this.”
She knew what I was about to do.
“P-please, I’m begging you like this. Please… please don’t do this. Please…”
It’s not a common sight, watching a doll with no arms or legs awkwardly bow and slam its forehead into the ground.
She was completely naked, but naturally, I felt no lust. It had nothing to do with whether her body was sexy or not. Her entire form was caked in dirt and blood, and a hoarse sound escaped her throat, as if she was struggling to speak. She wasn’t even thinking of staunching the bleeding from her wounds, just continuously pressing her filthy face to the ground.
“I-I’ll be a dog if you want me to be a dog, I’ll bark if you tell me to bark. If… if you want my body, I’ll give you my body, and if you tell me to cut off my own arm, I’ll cut it off. Please… please don’t do this. I-I’m begging you.”
“Well…”
“Please… I beg you…”
Her very life was on the line. The fact that she couldn’t give up her possessions even in a situation like this was almost impressive. Of course, separate from that, the current situation was immensely enjoyable. Watching those who had screamed in defiance now groveling brought a strange sense of pleasure. I could feel that I, too, was broken somewhere.
“Please, withdraw your hand. Like this, I-I’m begging you.”
The populace, radiating fury, was silent. The only sound in the deathly quiet square was the voice of Maria Trump. Seeing that everyone here was watching my hand, I couldn’t help but smile.
It wasn’t just Maria.
Those who were furious at the situation were also watching my arm. They, too, were watching me with the same feeling as Maria. They were hoping I wouldn’t touch the accumulated wealth. A strange sound kept escaping my lips. When I raised my hand once more, Maria’s voice naturally grew louder.
“Please! Please!!! I was wrong. It-it was all my fault, it all happened because of my greed. I was foolish. Please stop… please… Don’t take away what’s left. Please…”
Her voice was that of someone lost to madness.
I muttered, as if answering everyone present.
“No, you fool.”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!! Noooooo!!!!!”
I extended my hand and poured my magic into it. An undying flame immediately poured into the warehouse. I felt the exhaustion of my magic draining away, but it wasn’t enough to make me pass out like before. The sight of the screaming Maria and the humans letting out stifled gasps was laughable.
“Bwahahahahahahahaha!”
Laughter began to burst out of me uncontrollably.
It was then that I thought something about her behavior was strange.
I caught sight of her, dragging her body with her one remaining arm, heading into the warehouse.
“Aaaaaaaah… Nooo!!! No!!!”
It was like watching a lover yearning for an impossible love; that’s how desperate and tragic she looked. Sitting on the Iron Throne, I flicked my finger, and a greatsword of flame embedded itself in her remaining foot.
“Aaargh!”
But she didn’t stop crawling. She didn’t stop crawling toward the undying flame, toward everything she had ever built.
“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeek! Aaargh!”
With her one remaining hand, she pulled out the sword of fire restraining her body and continued to crawl forward.
“N-no… Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah…”
A woman throwing her life away because she can’t abandon the things she’s collected her whole life. There’s no comedy quite like this. I extended my hand and fell into a strange thought. I considered whether it would be fine to let her die like this. My revenge for her baring her fangs at me was complete. There was no meaning in torturing her physically.
Even as I considered various things, she continued to advance toward what she desired. I nodded my head.
This is a magnificent end, one worthy of history.
It is right to grant her wish here and now.
“Aaaaaah…”
She began to look sublime. There had been many difficulties. There were times it seemed impossible, but she broke through all adversity, overcame every trial, and then…
Finally,
She got her hands on what she wanted.
“I… protected it all…”
“…”
“Haha… hahaha! I protected it all! All of it!”
“…”
“Hahahahahahat! It’s all mine! All of it! No one can take it away! No one!!!!!”
The sound of screaming was replaced by a voice shouting with joy, and the voice filled with pain was replaced by one filled with ecstasy.
“In the end, I won! In the end! In the end, I was the one who won!!!”
Even as the undying flame swallowed her and her treasures whole, her voice could still be heard.
“Hahihahihahahit! You bastards will never have it.”
“…”
“I was chosen! I will live forever. With the things I own! Forever! In a place where no one can ever take them away! Forever!!!”
Naturally, no voice answered her mad ramblings. Everyone simply watched her, engulfed in the massive inferno.
“I… won…”
“…”
“Won’t… let it be… taken… h…ot…”
At some point, not even the smallest voice could be heard anymore.
[You have obtained the Seat of Greed.]
Amidst it all, a familiar message.
I spat out the words that had risen to my throat without thinking.
“Fucking bitch.”
I imagine no one would say that what happened was right.
But of the many people here,
whether there are more who think like me,
or more who live their lives thinking like her,
is something I’ll never know.